WTCC celebrated its 200th race in Japan

The second race at Suzuka mark a special moment for the FIA World Touring Car Championship, as this was the 200th since the series was launched in 2005. Dutch driver Tom Coronel won the 200th race in a ROAL Motorsport BMW.

Halfway through the 2004 season the FIA World Motor Sport Council had approved the upgrading of the European Touring Car Championship to World Touring Car Championship.

The WTCC was launched in style at Monaco in December and held its inaugural event at Monza on April 10, 2005, when German driver Dirk Müller won Race 1 for BMW.

Since then the championship has visited thirty-two race tracks in twenty-three countries, over four continents.

192 drivers from thirty-four countries and at the wheel of cars built by ten different manufacturers have taken part in at least one race. Thirty of them have won at least one race and sixty-seven have scored points.

The driver with the longest service is the 2012 World Champion Rob Huff, who has taken part in 198 out of the 200 races.

A few key moments have dotted the WTCC 200 races:

-Race #14, Oschersleben, 2005: Alessandro Zanardi’s claims his first victory, four years after the horrific incident in which he had lost both legs

-Race #55, Oschersleben, 2007: Yvan Muller and SEAT score the first victory of a Diesel-powered car in an FIA World Championship

-Race #91, Marrakech, 2009: North Africa hosts the first FIA World Championship race, fifty years after the F1 GP of Morocco